Alone Australia is coming back, but not to Tasmania/Lutruwita

Described as a “Thai-born, Sweden-raised powerhouse,” Sia is definitely a contender this season. As an ultramarathon runner, she knows endurance. She even has experience running through hundreds of kilometres of snow and ice. Also as someone who grew up in Sweden, she knows how to deal with the cold. Plus, her bio adds that she lived through an extremely impoverished Thai childhood and relied on foraging and fishing to survive. So, she likely has the mental fortitude to withstand the constitution.

“None of the skills I have learnt over the years have been borne of passion…they were learnt because I was born poor.”

Another Victorian contestant, Misty, is an adventure tour guide, but now she’s throwing herself into the wilderness. Misty is of Wulli Wulli heritage and has gathered plenty of survival and traditional skills from across Australia, including tool-making and fishing techniques. However, the question will be whether those skills forged in Australia will be transferable to the Arctic.

“I remember watching the first season of Alone Australia and thinking to myself, ‘I’m going to be part of this one day!’”

Right she was!

Navy veteran Trent is a self-described “quintessential knockabout dad”. Today, he lives on a nearly 100 per cent self-sufficient property in Tasmania. Obviously, he’s bringing with him a range of skills from his time in the Navy. He also had a turbulent childhood, which fuelled his passion for the outdoors and his family, whom he is fighting for this season.

“I don’t know how realistic this goal is, but I’d love to get to 101 days. And I believe if there’s fish in that lake and I’m catching them and I’ve got food…Then I can definitely last 100 days.”

His bio speaks to his extensive “angling prowess”; hopefully, there’s plenty of fish available in the Arctic north.

Another outdoor guide! Lillian, like Sia, was born for this challenge. She’s Nordic-born (originally from Sweden) and moved to Melbourne as a child. From a young age, she excelled in the outdoors and with the Scouts, winning the Queen Scout award in her youth. Now, she’s an international hiking guide who has run tours across both hemispheres.

She might appear small, but she’s a force of nature and a master of cold weather. Her test will be hunting and foraging for food as I don’t doubt her prowess with endurance and cold weather.

“Working and living in the Arctic gives me an advantage for this season…. my experience and exposure within that environment is definitely going to help me!”

Jasper is the youngest contestant on this season of Alone Australia 2026. Currently, Jasper is a leading member of an off-grid community in Western Australia. The group live sustainably on a shared acreage, and his home is actually a retrofitted bus complete with a fire-stoked bathtub.

The Alone Australia hopeful grows and hunts his own food and crafts his essentials. Additionally, he is a specialist in plant identification and foraging, and foshing. However, like Misty, his test will be whether he can use those skills in the Arctic, which is home to vastly different flora and fauna.

Proud Palawa man, Dylan, originally from Lutruwita/Tasmania, currently lives in tropical Queensland. Despite thriving in his life, he admits to losing his connection to Country. So, this season, he is challenging himself to reconnect with nature and be an example to his son, Jensen, of what a Palawa man is capable of.

“My connection to Country is a piece of me that has gone to sleep…  it would be amazing to wake it up again”

Dougy actually grew up in the UK, and the skilled woodsman and hunter is hoping that those skills will help him this season:

“My secret weapon coming into this is the skills I’ve learned as a poacher growing up in the UK; poaching fish, salmon, trout… I’m skilled in the art of creative fishing, and I think that gives me a real edge.”

Former Afghan refugee Arash knows a thing or two about survival. He grew up in a literal warzone. To survive, he had to learn to forage, fish and hunt. Today, he is a decorated NSW and national Taekwondo champion and is hoping that both life experiences are the perfect recipe for success.

“From the moment I came into this world, life was all about survival. You didn’t know when your next meal would come… or if you were going to live another day” 

Originally from Wollongong, Alyce is a second-generation Lebanese-Australian and “science nerd”. The outsrs are her “true calling”. She often leaves city life for a break in nature and has completed some of the most demanding trails, from the Larapinta and Bibbulmum tracks to Everest Base Camp and the Canadian Rockies. Not content with that experience, she also did mountaineering training with the Indian Military in the Himalayas. So she knows how to deal with the cold.

Alyce is also a skilled craftsperson and has proven freshwater fishing skills. However, unlike the rest of the contestants, she came to the outdoors later in life. But she doesn’t see that as a disadvantage.

“I’m not a typical contender for Alone, purely because I came into the outdoors a lot later in life compared to a lot of other people, but I’ve immersed myself fully in survival experiences and adventure as soon as I did… I know can do this!”

The sole New Zealander this season, Clint is an off-grid sheep and cattle farmer across the pond. He and his family live off the grid thanks to solar power, crops and livestock. But beyond farming and living on the land, Clint also completed an incredible 10,0000 km sea kayaking expedition around Alaska. So, he should be solid when it comes to cold weather and endurance challenges.

“For me, this will be the ULTIMATE challenge after a lifetime of outdoor pursuits.” 

Alone Australia airs 7.30 pm on Wednesdays. Seasons 1-3 are available to stream on SBS On Demand.